Underneath the Apple Tree
by dyhanna
Summary: Hermione Granger has been the center of ridicule during her childhood. Going to Hogwarts had given her a new hope that was soon destroyed. As she sat alone underneath an apple tree, she found another who understood.


Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter in any way. If I did, my room would be so much bigger right now.

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_The primary joy of life is acceptance, approval, the sense of appreciation and companionship of our human comrades. Many men do not understand that the need for fellowship is really as deep as the need for food, and so they go through life accepting many substitutes for genuine, warm, simple relatedness. _

_Joshua Loth Liebman_

Loud sobs could be heard throughout the whole first landing of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. An eleven year old girl with bushy brown hair and large front teeth ran through the school's endless hallways towards the grounds. Her hair was flying everywhere and her honey brown eyes were filled with glistening tears. She managed to finally get outside the towering castle and into the green slopes of the Hogwarts Grounds. The girl felt her own body collapse towards the ground as she cried harder.

Apparently, the Slytherins had found a new victim for their sheer cruelty. A couple of fifth year Slytherins huddled up against a first year student named Hermione Granger and started insulting her from her know-it-all attitude to her heritage. Their obnoxious laughter shattered her defenses and broke her down. On top of it all, she had no friends to pour her sadness and grief out to.

In her old muggle school, she was made fun of all her classmates for her appearance and noticeable thirst for knowledge. She was often avoided by everyone, even sometimes the teachers, because of the strange and unexplainable events that take place whenever they're around the bossy girl. Receiving her Hogwarts letter had awakened a new hope that she will be finally liked and accepted by her present schoolmates. She anticipated that it would be different. Her heart ached to be away from the glares, the cruelty, the laughter, but she was evidently mistaken.

The pace of Hermione's tears rapidly increased as the faces of her own housemates appeared inside her head. Not one, except for that shy boy Neville Longbottom, attempted to befriend her. Most didn't even bother to hide their dislike for her and her bossy know-it-all attitude. At this, she cried even harder, if possible.

'_No one likes me…'_ Hermione thought, wiping her tears away _'they just think I'm a nosy and bossy geek. Not just the Slytherins, but the other houses as well, even the Gryffindors… especially Harry Potter and Ron Weas—no, especially Ron Weasley.' _Tears had once again filled Hermione's tired eyes.

Hermione could still see the glowing moon through her burning tears and realized that it was already late. _'I've been crying for that long?'_ she thought depressingly as she wiped her tears once more with the fabric of her robes.

Her vision returned to her and saw that she was crying underneath a giant apple tree near the edge of the Black Lake. Her body suffered great fatigue as she was crying for a couple of hours. The silver moonlight striked her small figure as she stood up with the help of the tree. She edged towards the lake and saw her reflection.

"Great", Hermione muttered, shaking her head at the sight of her appearance. "I look even more horrible than I did before."

She was right. She was a complete mess. Her hair was tangled and was decorated with leaves and twigs, her face was streaked with tears, and her eyes were puffy and red from crying. She sat by the lake and stared at the mountains surrounding her present school for a while. She snapped out of her reverie when she heard a crack. Hermione turned around and saw a black haired first year, looking like a child getting caught.

He smiled guiltily and said,"Hey Hermione."

Hermione glared at the boy's form and answered, "What do you want, Harry? Came here to make fun of me like everybody else? Well, go ahead. There's a lot to—"

"No!" Harry shook his hands defensively "I didn't come here to make fun of you. I was just taking a walk then I saw you here. You were crying."

"Really, I hadn't noticed." Hermione said sarcastically, rolling her eyes.

"What's bothering you?" Harry asked, sitting beside her.

"It's really none of your business." Hermione said, mimicking Harry's words before.

"You don't need to be harsh. I can get a hint." Harry said scathingly, standing up. "I just have a question. Why do you hate me so much? I was just trying to help."

Hermione was furious "Well, I have a few questions for you. Why should I tell you what's bothering me? Why would I trust you? Why are you so interested to know how I feel? Why would you care about someone who's practically invisible and unpopular? Why would you care about someone who you and Ron-"she spat his name with revulsion, "despise?" Hermione was standing up and was heaving when she had finished.

Harry was shocked at Hermione's outburst "What are you talking about? I don't despise you. Who said I despised you?"

"You know what they say, actions speak louder than words." Hermione remarked bitterly.

Harry looked deeply ashamed, "Look Hermione, I—I know Ron and I were hard on you, so I just want to say that I'm really sorry. We shouldn't have treated you that way, especially me. I would know what it's like to be insulted and isolated of all people. I was treated like that ever since I was born. I should've been more sensitive. I was just so happy to be accepted that—that…" Harry couldn't speak any longer as he remembered his awful childhood. A lone tear managed to escape from the corner of his eye.

Hermione gaped in surprise. She never actually expected 'The-Boy-Who-Lived' to have such a terrible childhood. She observed Harry's form and saw signs of a cruel life. Harry was thin, too thin for his age. He had faint bruises that are almost impossible to see if you weren't observant. Also, Harry wasn't actually used to having money and freedom when she first met him. She scolded herself for not seeing it before. She should have figured it out when she first met Harry. His glasses were only held together by Sellotape. Why wouldn't his guardians have them fixed if they really cared for Harry?

She slapped herself mentally. _'I'm so stupid. Why didn't I see it before? It was staring me at the face.'_

"Harry…" Hermione cautiously approached Harry, blinking back tears. She reached out her hand and hugged him "I'm really sorry, Harry. I—I didn't know… "

"Don't worry. I'm fine." Harry said, hugging Hermione back.

"No Harry. I was too caught up in my own misery that—that I didn't notice that I wasn't the only one that longed to be accepted." Hermione stuttered, her sobs getting louder. She forgot all her grief from before and focused on the wizard in front of her.

"Hermione, don't—don't cry." Harry soothed, awkwardly patting Hermione on the small of her back. He wasn't used to comforting someone. He wasn't sure of what to do since he never experienced being comforted by anyone.

Hermione wiped her tears away "I'm really sorry, Harry. I truly am."

Underneath the apple tree stood two souls who had been ridiculed throughout their childhood. The two had never spared the other a second glance, not expecting the other to have gone through the same pain that they have undergone. That night, the two had formed a unique bond without even knowing it. They shared the same anxiety that had followed them during their younger years. They came to a new world, hoping for a new beginning, a new start. One had been accepted, but the other hadn't. The two had come to a silent truce. They had a mutual understanding that they felt they couldn't share with any other person. They didn't consider themselves friends of any sort.

Little did they know that that was going to change in a few days.

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AN: I pretty much overdid the whole crying thing. This happened during the trio's first year, somewhere before Halloween to be exact. You all know what happens then. The thing between Harry and Hermione is strictly friendship. I wrote this to vent my feelings. This is pretty much how I felt during my childhood. What do you think? Good, bad, completely awful?


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